Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Decreases Stake in Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lessened its stake in shares of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Free Report) by 10.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,936,591 shares of the company's stock after selling 352,581 shares during the period. Johnson & Johnson accounts for approximately 0.9% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.12% of Johnson & Johnson worth $424,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in JNJ. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Johnson & Johnson in the 4th quarter worth $2,142,000. RBO & Co. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Johnson & Johnson by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. RBO & Co. LLC now owns 213,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,887,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Johnson & Johnson in the fourth quarter worth about $675,000. Guardian Capital LP increased its stake in Johnson & Johnson by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Guardian Capital LP now owns 132,000 shares of the company's stock worth $19,090,000 after acquiring an additional 3,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rehmann Capital Advisory Group raised its position in Johnson & Johnson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 44,197 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,392,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.55% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of JNJ stock traded up $1.63 on Friday, hitting $156.09. The stock had a trading volume of 5,973,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,879,758. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Johnson & Johnson has a one year low of $140.68 and a one year high of $169.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $158.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.67. The company has a market cap of $375.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.49.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 15th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.59 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $21.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.65 billion. Johnson & Johnson had a net margin of 18.20% and a return on equity of 34.24%. Research analysts anticipate that Johnson & Johnson will post 10.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Johnson & Johnson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Johnson & Johnson's previous quarterly dividend of $1.24. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Johnson & Johnson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

JNJ has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $166.00 to $152.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Johnson & Johnson from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $157.00 to $172.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Johnson & Johnson in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Johnson & Johnson from $182.00 to $169.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $171.82.

Insider Transactions at Johnson & Johnson

In other news, EVP Timothy Schmid sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.15, for a total transaction of $62,928.45. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,357,552.70. This represents a 2.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Decker sold 6,999 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.88, for a total value of $1,160,994.12. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,001 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,483,645.88. The trade was a 25.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company's stock.

Johnson & Johnson Profile

Johnson & Johnson is a holding company, which engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of products in the healthcare field. It operates through the Innovative Medicine and MedTech segments. The Innovative Medicine segment focuses on immunology, infectious diseases, neuroscience, oncology, cardiovascular and metabolism, and pulmonary hypertension.